Here is one question that keeps popping into my mind: Is mankind happier nowadays than it was in the past? Human beings certainly have an easier life, but…are they “happier”? Has progress, i.e. skyscrapers, hypermarkets, technology etc…created more bliss and contentment? As I find this rather interesting, I’d like to examine the topic starting from…the beginning. In prehistoric times men were hunting for survival, they lived in caves, they led simple, primitive lives. As a testimonial of their habits and environment we only have drawings on the walls of the caves they inhabited. Therefore we cannot be sure of how happy they were, and even if they “were” happy. Their lives seemed only aimed at finding the means to survive on a daily basis.
Then, almost suddenly, some surprisingly advanced civilizations appear in different parts of the world. We find that idols, rituals, prayers are widely spread in all layers of society. Were people happy then? All we can say is that there were rich people and poor people. There were those who led and controlled and those who obeyed. Their religious beliefs helped them in determining how their lives were lived. The rich had palaces and handsome tombs, the poor had humble dwellings and simpler resting places. They all believed that the different “locations” in the social arrangement were fair and everybody seemed okay with it. The peasant carried on his life as a peasant, knowing that it was his destiny, and he did his best to fulfill it. The same can be said for the Pharaoh (or the Prince, the King, the Emperor) who, in his golden palace and eventually in his majestic tomb, was just fulfilling the role he had been assigned by his fate. How happy were they? It seems that they accepted their “roles” and carried them out as well as they could.
Proceeding forward in history, we have had an almost identical pattern throughout the centuries: The leaders and the subjects, plenty of wars raging all the time, differences in wealth and lifestyles.
Back then people’s work was mainly manual, carried out with physical labor. Traveling took a very long time, communications were slow and basically each village or town was a world of its own. Human beings suffered, they certainly cried, looked for support and hope in their religions.
Most individuals (excepts the lucky few) were ignorant; they didn’t know anything about science, literature or art. They toiled, merely survived and accepted their destiny as the will of the fate they believed in.
Nowadays the world shows a totally different face.
Most of the hard work is not manual anymore, we have numberless machines, even robots to do the job, so that people don’t need to get physically tired. Travels are fast, in a few hours we can reach places that in the past could be reached in months or even years. Communications don’t use couriers and even regular mail anymore, they are as fast as lightening. We have computers that tell us anything we need to know with no effort whatsoever, we just need a click…We have all kinds of entertainment, of information, of supplies, of products. The supermarkets overflow with merchandise whose actual utility isn’t totally clear. There is too great an amount of…too much stuff.
On the other hand, there are still plenty of poor and homeless people, there are still raging wars, there is a lot of hate, of intolerance, of aggressiveness.
There is a huge need to control, to overpower others. I don’t honestly see a great difference from the olden days as far as human behavior is concerned. Some people still seek refuge in religion and spirituality. Some find it, others don’t because nowadays, differently from the olden days, people talk, discuss and argue far too much, they seem to know, presume and expect too much… They are often dissatisfied, seldom grateful for what they have, always looking for something else, something more…Technology has reached unbelievable heights indeed, and it is still speeding on. What about inner peace?
What about contentment, friendship, cooperation? How widespread and significant are these ingredients for happiness? In a nutshell, how has “progress” contributed to mankind’s emotional, psychological, spiritual fulfillment?
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